Katherine ‘Katie’ McCarron: An Inadequate Memorial
This should not have needed to be written. I’m sorry I can’t do a better job on this, Katie, but I am having a real hard time with this. I keep thinking about myself at your age and my beautiful little Aspie Boy who is only a year and a half older than you. Ballastexistenz has done a good job for you today, so has Kristina and Kevin and a whole bunch of people at the Autism Hub. [update: Autism Diva has penned a must read.]
For those of you that don’t know, Katherine McCarron was an autistic three year old girl. Not much more than a toddler, really. Her mother was a medical doctor (a pathologist), but she took a plastic bag and suffocated Katherine with it. Her last few minutes must have been terrifying. I really can’t imagine.
Friends of Katherine’s mom say that she spent time helping other people in online forums. As far as Katie was concerned, it seems she was involved with the so-called ‘treatment’ option. Which, to my mind, means that she thought Katherine could be ‘fixed’, that something in Katherine was ‘broken.’ And I guess when she realized that the treatments and cures would not help, she took her own action. I’m tempted to call it her ‘final solution.’ I guess I just did. I don’t think that term is inappropriate here because I think a lot of people would like for us to go away.
I am sorry I will never get to know you or see you play with my little boy. I think the two of you would have had fun together. I am sorry I could not have helped, Katie.
I will give my little Aspie Boy an extra couple of dozen hugs tonight when I see him again. This will bug him a bit because he gets annoyed if he gets touched too much. He will ask me, “Daddy, why are you hugging me?”
And I will say, “Because I can.”
Your IP Address is:
38.103.63.61
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
May 24th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
[...] Aspie Dad >> Blog Archive >> Katherine ‘Katie’ McCarron: An Inadequate Memorial [...]
May 24th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
[...] Kevin Leitch | Dad of Cameron | Mike Stanton | Bartholomew Cubbins | Not Mercury | Mum Is Thinking | Kassiane | Autistic Bitch from Hell | Janna | Zilari | Autism Diva | Kathleen Seidel | MOM-NOS | Kristina Chew | Rose | Joseph | MothersVox | Jonathon | Aspie Dad | Lisa [...]
May 24th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
Thanks for this. You may think it’s inadequate, but to me, it hits just the right note. I was just about to go nag my son to hurry up and get ready to go out, but first I think I’ll give him a hug.
July 2nd, 2006 at 5:33 am
In addition to being a person who has Asperger’s, I am a Roman Catholic. This is one of the prayers that my church says for someone who has died. I have prayed for Katie McCarron several times before, but, if I may, I will type the prayer here as well.
First, in Latin, one of the oldest (although not the oldest) languages of the Church, and still our official language.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Animae eorum et anime omnium fidelium defunctorum, per misericordia Dei, in pace requiescant. Amen.
Now, in English, Katie’s native language (if she had one; some, like my mother, do not feel that they are native speakers of any language).
Eternal rest grant unto her, oh Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.